, today is christmas eve and the vatican city now, catholics are preparing to celebrate the birth of jesus christ. thousands are gathering at st. peter's basilica. in just two hours, the pope will celebrate christmas eve mass. in bethlehem, christians are gathering at the church of the in nativity. it is believed to be the birth place of jesus christ. now, palestinian authorities in the west bank were concerned with regards to tourism because of the recent conflict between israel and hamas and the gaza strip that this could deter visitors to the site this year. >>> pope benedict xvi is preparing to deliver his homily, marking one of the holiest years for catholic. joining me on the phone is raymond arroyo. thank you for being with us. pope benedict xvi, the christmas eve homily, we get one every year from the pontiff. >> right. >> what are you expecting this year in particular? >> well, you know, hala, after reading the pope's new book, which is all about the infancy and the birth of christ, one imagines he'll sound similar things. there he really talked about the freedom that, you know, t